Chlamydia rates stabilise in Europe, but young adults remain at risk

The profile of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in Europe is changing, according to a new EU study.

By Colin Mackay

29 Sep 2015

The report published by the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), shows that the groups most at risk of contracting STDs are young adults and men who have sex with men (MSM).

In the young adult group, the most common infections were Chlamydia and gonorrhoea.

Overall, it's a mixed picture. Although there were 384,555 cases reported in 26 EU/EEA member states, chlamydia rates have stabilised after a number of years of steady increase.

This is in part a testament to screening, testing and health education programmes among sexually active young adults. But, because the disease does not display any noticeable symptoms, the real incidence is likely to be much higher.

However, gonorrhoea and syphilis are beginning to show an increase once again, after a number of years of decline.

There were almost 53,000 recorded cases of gonorrhoea and the overall rate has risen by 79 per cent since 2008, and is consistent across most EU countries. MSM are particularly at risk of gonorrhoea and syphilis.

In their report, the Stockholm-based ECDC highlighted that for virtually all diseases, there was likely to be significant underreporting.

The study also emphasised the need for enhance STD surveillance to provide the necessary information to monitor disease distribution and evaluate the public health response to prevent and control the transmission of infections.


Link to full report: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications/Publications/sexual-transmitted-infections-europe-surveillance-report-2013.pdf